Only The Best Whump/Sickfic Tropes

Whump scenarios I like :)

[sickfictropes]

omg yes Project Hail Mary! So much potential for whump!

overwork/exhaustion whump

injuries from extreme gravitational forces: broken ribs, nausea, bruises, crushing injuries

chemical burns!

touch starvationnnn

The Martian by Andy Weir also has some good whump in the scifi/space survival genre!

aahhh phm is my current OBSESSION. i'm DEEP in it. those are some GOOD ass tropes omg, here's what i've used so far in my fics:

two chapter fic: first, rocky learns that humans actually have HARD limits where they go past sleepy hungry thirsty and arrive at unconscious on the floor. chapter two, that same exhaustion event triggers a migraine and rocky learns more unfortunate human things.

grace gets appendicitis and writes it off as anxiety until it's REALLY bad.

astrophage research era fic, another two chapter one. Grace pushes himself while sick until he faints in the venus box and Carl takes him home. then, when his fever spikes dangerously in the middle of the night and he doesn't know what to do, he has no choice but to call Carl, who comes over immediately.

(a personal fav of mine) Grace cuts his hand open on one of the xenonite panels Rocky makes when he moves in, and he's very squeamish about blood. Rocky basically has to wrangle a limp toddler into a minivan as he gets a very woozy Grace to the med bay for stitches. Lots of Rocky worry, guilt, and angst.

Grace gets sick before a Q&A, then collapses on Eva after she ends it early when she sees he's starting to fall apart. She pretends not to care.

Grace starts leaving Rocky alone to do work in the lab while he's sleeping, always sneaking back in before he wakes up. then, a xenonite panel they installed earlier that day falls from above him and knocks him into the desk and floor, giving him broken ribs and a concussion. his ribs hurt too much to lift the panel, so he's stuck until Rocky wakes up pissed that Grace left. then some bonus Rocky angst where he tells Grace he's been getting nightmares because he subconsciously could sense that he was alone :'(

(my beloved 5 chapter bookverse WIP that i love dearly) After Rocky wakes up from saving Grace, Grace gets pneumonia from the chemical exposure when he saved Rocky. then, the ship loses power because there are taumoeba in the fuel line. they decide they're going to use the beetles as thrusters to get them out of Adrian's orbit before they crash, then get to Rocky's ship for his astrophage. that means two EVAs and a lot of lab work for Grace, all while his fever, pain, and breathing worsen. Rocky isn't handling it well.

anyway everyone who likes phm should go check them out and def subscribe to the last one and also leave me lots of comments <3

[sickfictropes]

quote from a phm fic i posted that might be relevant to y'all's interests (The Character collapses at work, friend takes him home, fever spikes so bad in the middle of the night that he doesn't know what to do and calls friend, who returns to help him):

"I'm sorry," he apologizes again, "for dragging you all the way out here in the middle of the night." He expects a sarcastic retort, but that's not what he gets.

"You did the right thing, calling me. Seriously. I know I give you trouble, but I'm glad you didn't try to do all this yourself. You were a real mess."

He smiles.

"Yeah, I know. But thanks. I'll see you Monday."

"You think I'm leaving you alone again? Last time I tried that, you caught fire in your sleep. I'm staying the night."

"That's really not--"

"It is," he curtails, "and that's okay. You're still in pretty rough shape. Why are you so committed to dealing with this on your own?"

He hadn't been anticipating this question. He's a little too feverish still to think of an answer that might be less vulnerable than the open truth. 

"I'm just used to it. Tough to rely on people when there's nobody around, right?"

[memento-morri-whumps]

I don't know what it is, but I have such a deep fondness for slightly "old-fashioned" phrases in whump. "ill", "unwell", "in a poor state", "[how did you] end up in this state", etc. They just really hit a sweet spot for me, and I have no idea why.

[sickfictropes]

MAY I OFFER YOU:

woozy

poorly

indisposed

under the weather

ailing

[sickfictropes]

whumpee mistaking caretaker's worried observations for irritated complaints and hiding away so as to stop bothering them with their persistent cough or restless tossing and turning or anxious pacing or whatever :)

[sickfictropes]

day four into running a fever but if it means that my headache is actually gonna go away this time and not be a 6 month long constant feature, it's a relief rather than a concern lmao

[whumperofworlds]

Quick! Tell me whump community!

What are the most common traits for a whump community member to have (ie in the aroace spectrum, obsessed with that one Aladdin/Tangled scene).

Asking for... reasons.

[sickfictropes]

aroace spectrum, whump being an interest that has persisted since childhood, and past or current shame and/or embarrassment over their interest in whump. also every single whump blog i've interacted with is run by someone extremely sweet who would cry if they killed a spider irl

[sickfictropes]

I think my childhood whumperflies awakening was that scene in the Mulan movie. Hidden injury after doing something reckless and scolding to concerned/horrified captain my beloved

ooh i wish i knew what mine was but i have a dark, ominous feeling it involved danny phantom

[sickfictropes]

self-reliant loner caretaker being very awkward and slow while doing stitches on whumpee because they've only ever done them on themself

oughgh we love a loner who joins the found family and is amazing at giving care because they learned a lot having to keep themself alive alone for so long, but terrible at receiving it because that's new to them </3

[sickfictropes]

V*ltron (no particular reason for censoring it, just funny because the word deals psychic damage to fellow zoomers when they recall their phase) while the actual plot is mid and Potential Writing, has a genuinely well written space power ranger found family dynamic that still lives in my head rent free ten years later. It's got all the good rival tropes, and an angsty and class clown team member for whump potential, team members doing the best to protect The Youngest, and a stoic captain they constantly worry about, and even more I forgot about. I can see why that show had such a steel firm grip on fandomites back then lmaooo

not gonna lie i saw it and even censored my hand involuntarily jerked to the delete button and i'm being so brave replying

yeah there's nothing inherently wrong with it other than that the fandom was SO dramatic lmao. i wasn't part of any of the discourse bit but i wrote for it for a while (and wrote a LOT because i was going through it). i think personally i just never want there to be any evidence that i existed 10 or more years ago because i find it cringe, rolling deadline

[sickfictropes]

Tayyyyyyyyyy, I crave platonic fluff and characters showing they care about each other and even if they don’t verbally say it everyone can see it clear as day. Tay do you have ideas

oh my goddddd belle you know my weakness!!

making sure the other eats when they eat, especially if the other is bad about remembering/taking care of themself. can be as kind or as gruff as needed.

a specific scenario i love is "is on their way to do something else and overhears the other having a nightmare/panic attack and stops to calm them down, even if they say they're fine"

just kind of always knowing where the other one is and what they're up to. "where's [A]?" "go ask [B], they'll know."

passive knowledge that serves to show that they listen to each other. favorite things, anxiety/panic triggers, food allergies, special days, life events,etc.

quoting each other!! "they told me the funniest joke this morning." "you know, they gave me some really good advice about this, once. let me pass it on." mundane admiration of the other.

making sure the other is safe when stuff happens. checking on them during a storm, perhaps?

being insistent in assuming the other's best intentions. "if they were rude to you, i'm sure they didn't mean it that way." "if they're late, something must have happened." "if they missed this event, something must be wrong and we need to go check on them."

being nosy. opening the book they're reading and poking around just to see what they're reading. stuff like that.

example from me and my best friend: knowing the names and quirks and annoying habits of all their coworkers and beefing with strangers just because of how bad they piss the other off

this one is sad but never feeling good enough, like you don't deserve the other.

anyway i hope this is what you're looking for!! <3

[sickfictropes]

The passive whump of someone watching a person they love, whether romantic or platonic, beaten and bashed to the ground by someone stronger... no way of helping them...

platonic whump my beloved,,, helplessness my beloved,,, wishing you could take their place my beloved,,,

[sickfictropes]

I like when aliens or just an enemy group captures a person by drugging them, especially when it has effects like confusion/compliance/unconsciousness

captivity whump is a lil intense for me (i like fluff) but i do love a good drugging! and confusion in any context is so so good

[sickfictropes]

Imagine: A stoic loner whumpee getting sick/injured and hiding away in their room astheg try to deal with it themselves. But because they normal spend so much time alone, nobody thinks to check up on them until they're late for an important meeting/event they'd never ever usually skip. Anc by the time that their caretaker(s) finds them their condition has deteriorated...

godddd this is so peak. if i ever say no to a good "why didn't you say anything?" post-collapse conversation, shoot that one that's the clone

[sickfictropes]

characters who pick fights with sick or injured whumpees at the worst times and get them so worked up that it physically harms them and then feeling guilty about it when they finally get over it >>>>>>>

[sickfictropes]

so i'm still running a low fever, but my only symptoms are headaches and chills. and the headaches could also be related to the fact that i've barely slept in the last two weeks because of insomnia. idk if i'm actually sick or if i'm literally just so exhausted that i'm running a fever. i stayed home today so i could try to sleep it off but it didn't really work (even with the extra rest i still only slept 5.5 hours total).

AND! i'm supposed to work tomorrow. i'm a diagnostic lab scientist who works 10 hour shifts. it's my last day of the week before my weekend.

my dilemma is that i don't really feel that bad, but i do have a fever, chills, and a headache. i'm leaning toward the theory that my body is just THAT overworked and i wouldn't be contagious. should i go to work and wear a mask just in case?? or call out again??

[sickfictropes]

*mopily* okay, i called out. who wants to hit me first

[sickfictropes]

alien/otherwise different species caretaker encountering whumpee with an illness they've never seen before and assuming whumpee is dying

whumpee trying to comfort caretaker who believes whumpee is dying

caretaker feeling guilty that whumpee is using their limited energy to soothe their worries that whumpee is dying

[sickfictropes]

adding to this:

alien/otherwise different species caretaker encountering whumpee with an illness they've never seen before and assuming that whumpee is dying, then believing whumpee when they say they're fine, even though they are, in fact, dying

caretaker being pissed at whumpee for lying and saying they're fine just to keep caretaker from worrying

[sickfictropes]

feverish whumpee puts off asking for help for so long that they end up dangerously ill and has to ask for help from very gruff caretaker, who has a few words for them after they reluctantly help.

"don't let things get this bad again. next time, tell someone. not me," they clarify, "but someone."